Alex's Pokémon Adventure
by Korinzu
Summary: Alex and Alice live in Ireland on farmland. Alice wants to go on a journey, but Alex doesn't. However, when Alice runs away to go on her journey, Alex gets dragged into it to help her on her quest to become the Pokémon master! (Teen just in case of later stuff)
1. Introducing

Disclaimer:  I do not own **Pokémon** or will say I will!

(Alex is a fifteen year old boy who lives on a miltank farm in Ireland, County Wexford. He has brown, long hair and is slightly shorter than most boys his age. He loves caring for pokemon and can be classed as a pokemon breeder)

Alex brushed Leafeon's fur.

"Leeeeaaf..." Leafeon yawned, very relaxed.

"Jeez buddy, can't you groom yourself just a little bit more? I have to brush you every day," Alex said as he put away the brush.

"Leaf. Leafeon," Leafeon smiled.

"I'm assuming it's because I do such a great job?" Alex smirked. He followed Leafeon out of the barn and closed the doors. Leafeon yawned again. Alex petted Leafeon.

"Your egg will hatch soon," he said as he walked with Leafeon to the house. He locked the door behind him and Leafeon put her front paws up on the counter so she could see her egg. Alex stroked Leafeon's head and she curled up on the floor beside the stove.

"Night," Alex said and plodded upstairs.

"Alex? Did you put the miltank in the barn?" Alex's mother said. She was reading a book.

"Yup, all away. And if you ask, yes, Leafeon is in," Alex said as he shut the door to his room. He fell back on to his bed and drifted to sleep.

The next morning Alex was up early. He was always up early for a 15 year old, but today he was up earlier: he was working with his neighbours, the Clarks, to help gather apples in their orchard. He was good friends with the daughter, Alice. They had been since childhood.

Alice had always wanted to be a pokemon trainer and travel the world, while Alex liked the farm, raising and caring for the pokemon that lived there. Alice once said to him "why do we stay here?"

"What, like, on the farm?"

"No, on a larger scale. More like...why do we stay in Wexford?"

"I...I dunno. Most children go on their journey at ten, don't they?"

"Mmm-hmm. I want to go on a journey. You could come with me! We could have lots of fun adventures and battle all different kinds of pokemon!"

"Maybe...but I'm not very good at battling. I like caring for pokemon rather than battling them."

"Whatever floats your boat I guess..."

Alice asked her parents if she could start her adventure, but they said no. That it was too dangerous and risky. She was very sad and not very talkative for a while after that. She never talked about going on a journey since.

Alex pulled on his favourite chequered shirt with various reds and white and his blue jeans. He didn't imagine he could get very muddy apple picking. He slid down the banisters of his staircase and hopped off the end. He gathered up a quick breakfast and started to make off for the Clark's land with Leafeon on his family's ponyta.

The apple trees gave off a wonderful fruity smell as he rode through the large orchard. After a couple of minutes Alex could see Alice and her father, Keith.

"How'ya doing lad?" Keith called to Alex.

"Not too bad, yourself?"

"Grand," Keith replied. Alex hopped off Ponyta.

"Stay here, ok?" Alex whispered to Ponyta, "sorry, but may I feed an apple to Ponyta?"

"Of course!" Keith chuckled as he tossed one to Alex. He was lively for a greying man. Alex barely caught the apple and held it to Ponyta. Ponyta chomped away at the apple and he patted Ponyta's nose. Alice walked up behind him and looked at Ponyta.

"He's so quiet. Who's a good boy?" she said and ruffled Ponyta's ears. Ponyta rubbed his nose against Alice. She giggled.

"Munch," someone was tugging at Alex's shirt. He looked down.

"Hello Munchlax," Alex said and put out his fist. Munchlax knuckle bumped back. Munchlax was Alice's favourite pokemon. She trained him a lot.

"Since my Mom isn't here yet, how about we have a quick battle?" Alice said.

"A battle? I haven't had one in a while..." Alex said.

"Please?" she fluttered her eyelashes. Alex rolled his eyes.

"I will have to ask my pokemon," he said. Alice muttered a triumphant 'Yes' under her breath. Alex called Leafeon out of her pokeball.

"Leeeeaf," she said as she stretched out and lay down on the ground.

"I'm assuming you don't want to battle Leafeon?" Alex asked. Leafeon just lay there and started snoozing. "I guessed not. Ponyta?" Ponyta huffed and thumped his foot on the ground. "I guess that's a yes?" Ponyta nodded.

"Goody!" Alice squealed.

"I guess I can referee this match," Keith said.

"I will be using Munchlax," Alice beamed.

"All right, let the battle between Alex's ponyta and Alice's Munchlax...begin!"


	2. vs Munchlax

Disclaimer:  I do not own **Pokémon** or will say I will!

"Go Munchlax! Use Zen Head butt!" Alice commanded. Munchlax whirled into action and smashed into Ponyta.

"Ack, no! Ponyta, use Stomp!" Alex called. Ponyta quickly recovered from the vicious attack and stormed up to Munchlax.

"Munchlax, use Zen Head butt again!" Alice shouted. Munchlax countered Ponyta's move and Ponyta leapt back. He was very agile.

"Tsk," Alex said, "Ponyta use Ember!"

"Dodge!" Alice roared. Munchlax almost got away, but he was licked by the flames of Ponyta's Ember. Munchlax took minor damage and jumped back on to his feet.

"Munchlax, use Return!" Alice yelled. Munchlax started his attack.

"Ponyta, use Ember again!" Alex called. Munchlax, this time, was engulfed by the flames. He went in for another attack, but Ponyta kept him at bay by using Ember again. Alice could see this wasn't working so when Munchlax failed an attack again, she said,

"Munchlax, run back!" and Munchlax ran back to its initial point. Ember couldn't reach Munchlax there.

"Ponyta! Finish it with Quick Attack!" Alex roared, he knew he could win this battle. Ponyta sprinted toward Munchlax.

"Use protect," Alice said. A defensive ball enveloped Munchlax and he was protected from Ponyta's Quick Attack. "Now use Zen Head butt!" It hit Ponyta head on and Ponyta slid back with the hit, still standing strong though.

"Ponyta! Quick Attack once again!" Alex yelled. Ponyta was in touching distance when Alice said

"Counter".

Munchlax turned orange and Ponyta's attack was completely deflected and sent Ponyta flying. Ponyta barely managed to stagger to its feet.

"Ponyta!" Alex gasped.

"Finish him with return!" Alice shouted at the top of her voice. Munchlax took a flying leap at Ponyta.

"Stop!" Keith called, "the winner of this match is Alice and Munchlax!"

Munchlax and Alice looked at Keith and then at each other. They both smiled and then ran to hug each other. Alex ran over to tend to Ponyta. He pulled out a Super Potion and sprayed it on Ponyta.

"Pony..." Ponyta said sadly.

"It's ok buddy, you did awesome. I just need to become a better pokemon trainer," Alex said as he stroked Ponyta. Alice walked over with Munchlax.

"That was really fun," Alice beamed, "Ponyta is really strong. I was on tenterhooks thinking you might beat me!"

"Munch munch!" Munchlax agreed. Ponyta looked a bit happier. Alex squinted at Munchlax.

"Munchlax has a burn from the battle with Ponyta," Alex said. He pulled a Burn Heal out of his bag and sprayed it on Munchlax.

"Wow, I never would have noticed that burn! Lucky you're around," Alice said. Alice's mother, Dorothy, walked up and petted Leafeon.

"Hello Alex, good morning. That was a spectacular battle," she said softly.

"You were watching?" Alice said.

"Yes, you are both very talented trainers," Dorothy said.

"Thanks," Alex and Alice said.

"We better get picking," Keith grunted.

"Ok," Alex and Alice nodded.

Everyone was picking apples, and Ponyta was stretching his legs by thundering around the field. Munchlax was hiding apples that had fallen on the ground in his fur and Leafeon was helping get the high up apples with Razor Leaf. The apples smelled and tasted delightful. They were almost a pink colour and Alex could have sworn that they were the best apples he had ever tasted. Munchlax was even chewing them rather than chugging everything down to savour the taste.

After picking a lot of apples Keith said

"Well we can wrap up for today".

"Thanks for all your help Alex," Dorothy said, "take some of them with you. Say hello to your mother and father for me."

"Of course, thank you very much," Alex said as he called Leafeon back into her pokeball and called Ponyta over. Alice walked up to him.

"Goodbye Alex," she said. That was weird. Normally she would just say 'see ya' and salute back to Alex when he saluted to her.

"See ya later," Alex said and saluted as he turned around and hopped on Ponyta's back. He rode home, not too quickly, to think about the battle and what he could've done differently.

The rest of the day was rather normal, milking the miltank, herding them up with Herdier and putting them in the barn, brushing Leafeon and going to bed. He looked out his window. He always left the blind open, so the sun would wake him up in the morning and he could look at the scenery. He saw someone walking down the road late at night. "Probably some other farmer," he thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

The doorbell rang. Alex looked at his clock. 5 am. Who would be around at this time? He rolled off his bed and plodded downstairs. Dorothy and Keith were at the door. They were crying. Alex's parents invited them in and they went to the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked.

"Alice...she...ran away," Dorothy whimpered. Alex was shocked.


	3. Searching for Alice

_Disclaimer: I don't own__** Pokémon**__ and will never say I will!_

Everyone sat themselves down. Alex's mother started making everyone herbal tea.

"Alex, you can make yourself a hot chocolate," she said. Alex slowly got up, still shocked by the news. He started getting the things needed.

"What happened?" Alex's dad said.

"Well, Keith got up early...and...Alice's door was wide open...he walked in and...and..." Dorothy sobbed as she held out a note. Alex's dad read it aloud.

"Dear mother and father. I have wanted to go on a journey for five years now. I decided, now was a good time to go. I am bringing Munchlax with me. Don't worry about me; I have money and supplies, including my trainer licence. I will be back when I have defeated all the gyms in Ireland.

Love, Alice," he finished. Dorothy was in tears. Alex was a little red eyed.

"What do we do?" Keith said.

"Someone could go look for her," Alex's mother said.

"Where would she be?" Dorothy asked.

"Most likely on the way to the Wexford town gym," Alex's mother said.

"Who would go?" Keith said.

"We would offer to go, but we have to work the farm," Alex's dad said in dismay.

"We have the same problem...although we will go look if she doesn't come back by tonight," Keith said as he looked into his lap. Alex sat down and stirred his hot chocolate. 'Why do we stay here'? The words rung through his head. The person he saw last night. It must have been Alice. There was silence for a moment.

"I can go look for her," Alex said. Everyone looked at him.

"Well...I don't see the harm in it," Alex's dad said. His mother nodded in agreement.

"Would you really? That would mean so, so much to us," Dorothy said.

"Yes. I will. I will leave now, well, after I get dressed" Alex said. He stood up, leaving the hot chocolate unfinished.

"Alex," his mother said to him. He turned around, "take Ponyta. You'll be faster." Alex nodded. He got dressed and went out to the stables. Stantler was still asleep, but Ponyta was up and lively.

"Come on buddy, we're going to find Alice," he said as he grabbed Ponyta's pokeball.

"Pony?" Ponyta said.

"She ran away," Alex said, "Munchlax too."

"Ponyta!" he said. Ponyta was obviously surprised. Alex hopped on his back and they started making their way towards Wexford town. Houses started to get closer together as he got closer to the town. He had been to Wexford town often, as he had friends there. At first thought, he didn't know why Alice hadn't challenged the gym before, but then he thought that she probably wanted to face the gym leader on her journey. Once he got to the outskirts of the town, he hopped off Ponyta and put him back in his ball. He started to walk to a police station. There were lots of people about, probably because it was such a nice day. He arrived at the police station.

"Excuse me?" Alex said up at the counter.

"Hello?" the man said. He had a rather blank expression.

"I'm searching for a person," Alex explained.

"Righteo, what does this person look like and what is their name?"

"Her name is Alice Clark. She has waist length navy blue hair, light grey eyes and she is probably wearing a blue and white striped t-shirt with a black sleeveless cardigan on top and blue jeans. She might be walking around with a Munchlax," Alex listed off.

"Okay, I'll tell the patrols to keep a look out. Stay here until we find her," the policeman said as he pulled on his sunglasses and turned around to make some calls on the radio. He didn't need them, but Alex thought that it must have been part of his image.

"Thanks mister," Alex said.

"Please. It's Stuart," Stuart said.

Alex took a seat on the bench. He decided, as he was waiting, to reorganise his bag. He had a few Potions and Full Heals left. He also kept two Revival Herbs in case of an emergency. He finished reorganising his backpack and sat back down. He looked at Ponyta's pokeball. He couldn't really see himself throwing it like the pokemon trainers on television did.

"Hey lad, we found your girl. She was heading to the pokemon gym," Stuart explained.

"Thanks very much Stuart. Can I meet them outside the gym?" Alex asked.

"Sure," Stuart said as he pulled his radio to his mouth, "Tom, stay at the gym, the boy will come to you." Alex slung his backpack over his shoulders.

"Bye Stuart!" he said as he walked out the door and saluted. He knew where the pokemon gym was. He remembered when it was being constructed. After the Champion Red came on the scene, pokemon battling became even more popular all over the globe. The gyms haven't been in Europe for long and there still isn't an Elite Four in most parts of it. Only the more important countries like Great Britain and Germany have an Elite Four. He started coming closer to the gym. A policeman stood beside a very confused looking Alice.

"Alice!" Alex called and she started running towards him.

"Alex! Why did you come?" she said.

"Your parents are worried about you, they want you to come home," Alex explained.

"...I...I don't want to go," she said, "I want to become a pokemon master!"

"I know, but...your parents...they," he didn't finish.

"Hold on a sec," she said. She pulled out a notepad and scribbled something out on it. "Take this, give it to my parents," she said as she folded it and gave it to him. "If I go with you, they won't let me go again."

Alex looked at the note. This was something Alice really wanted. "Ok, I will be back soon," he said, "stay here so I can find you later."

"I will be waiting," she said. Alex sent out Ponyta and he started back for the Clark's house.


	4. A New Dawn

_Disclaimer: I don't own **Pokémon **and will never say I will._

_I was just wondering if more people would post more reviews. I am new to Fan fiction and I don't know how good I am. I would like constructive criticism and to know what I did well! Thank you to Ruby1996 for reviewing my story already!_

Alex had Ponyta sprint back to the Clark's. He wanted everything to go back to normal. Not much happened in the country, he wasn't used to change. He didn't check the scenery as he did on the way up. He pulled Ponyta to a sharp stop and hopped off. He knocked on the door. After a couple of seconds, Dorothy opened the door.

"Is she here?" she said, looking behind him.

"No," he said. She looked disappointed. Alex continued, "here, she wrote a note." Alex held out the note to her. Dorothy took it gingerly. She read it as Keith walked up behind her and started reading. Dorothy started tearing up, but she wasn't frowning. She was smiling. Keith was as well.

"All right. Alex. Tell her...she _can_ go on her journey," Dorothy struggled to say. Alex was surprised. Whatever was in that note was very convincing.

"Yes. Of course," Alex said. Although this was good for Alice, he would get lonely without her around.

"And Alex. There is one more favour I have to ask you. You don't have to do it if you don't want to," Dorothy said.

"Yes, what is it?" Alex asked.

"Could you go with Alice? Look after her? Help her on her journey? I'm sure she can get along by herself, but it would be easier and funner with a friend," she explained. Alex thought about this. Fifteen years and he hadn't wanted to go on a journey. But...without Alice...it would be lonely. And Alice would be lonely. He didn't want that.

"Yes. I will go on my journey with Alice. We will be back after Alice has defeated the gym leaders," Alex stated.

"Thank you so much. I know this is a big decision for you, so thank you a thousand times," Dorothy poured out. She was visibly overjoyed. As Alex got up to go Keith walked up to Alex and said,

"Look after my little girl. She's precious."

"Will do sir, thank you and farewell," Alex said and saluted on his way out. He never thought he'd be away from his home. He had to go home to tell his parents and Leafeon he was going on his journey. He jogged home, looking at the fields and scenery for the last time for who knows how long. He opened the door for his house.

"Mum! Dad!" he called. They ran downstairs.

"Alex! Did Alice come back?" his mother asked.

"No. You see this is the thing. Alice _is _going on her journey. I am accompanying her on her quest to be a pokemon master," he explained. His parents looked at each other.

"Well we thought you might go on a journey some day," his mother said. She gestured for him to come with her. They walked to the basement. His dad reached up to a high shelf and pulled a box down. He blew off the dust and opened it for Alex. He peered inside. There was the newer Kanto pokedex, 5 pokeballs and a trainer liscence with his name for it.

"Is this...for me?" he said.

"Yup, I got all this for you when you were ten," his mother said.

"Where did you get the pokedex? I haven't seen any in Ireland yet," Alex said.

"I got it from my journey in Japan," she said. Alex looked in awe at his mother, with a new respect for her.

"Japan?!" he exploded, "you went to Japan!?"

"I wanted to go on a journey, and at the time there was no gym leaders in Europe! So I left Ireland to go to Japan on a journey," she went on.

"So Leafeon, Stantler, Herdier, Totodile and Pidgeot are your pokemon?" Alex said.

"And I had a Miltank," she said. Alex was staring, jaw to the floor. He took the things out of the box and put them in his bag.

"Also, we want you to take Ponyta as your first pokemon," his dad said. Alex didn't realise how exciting this would be. He walked upstairs and Leafeon was at the top of the stairs.

"Leaf?" she asked.

"Oh, Leafeon. I'm going on a journey now, so I won't be here to groom you every day. I'm going to miss you," Alex explained. Leafeon leapt up on Alex's chest and licked his face. Alex was laughing and crying at the same. Leafeon hopped down and walked over to her egg. She nudged it and looked to Alex.

"Do you want me to take it?" Alex asked.

"Leaf," Leafeon nodded. Alex walked up to the egg and picked it up.

"Thank you Leafeon," Alex said and stroked Leafeon for the last time. He put the egg in his bag and turned to his family. Tears were rolling down his face.

"Bye...mum...dad..." he whimpered. They hugged him and comforted him and told him how amazing his journey would be. He said goodbye to all the pokemon on the farm. He let Ponyta say his goodbyes as well. He got all the stuff he needed for his journey and before he left he turned to all the pokemon and his family and saluted. "Bye."

He got on Ponyta again down the road. Ponyta looked up at him.

"We're going on a journey. Are you ready?" Alex asked. Ponyta stomped his foot on the ground and nodded.

"Well then, let's go!"


	5. vs Pichu

_Disclaimer: I don't own __**Pokémon **__or will say I do! (Just realised I was saying it wrong until now :P)_

Alex walked up to the gym Alice was standing at.

"Jeez, you took forever!" she said, visibly frustrated.

"Sorry about that," Alex apologised.

"Whatever. What did my parents say?" she asked.

"They said it's a go!" Alex chimed.

"Yes! I knew it would work," she said triumphantly, "I guess...I'll see you when I've completed my journey." She scratched the back of her head and flicking her eyes back and forth while looking at the ground.

"Nope," Alex said, "I'm coming with you." 'We could have lots of fun adventures and battle all different kinds of pokemon!' The words streamed through his head. He never thought that this would actually happen.

"Really?!" Alice squealed. She gave Alex a really strong hug during which Alex couldn't breathe. When she let him go, Alex took a deep breath.

"Yeah," he took in another deep breath, "I have Ponyta and an Eevee egg. But guess what?"

"What?" Alice asked, curious.

"I have one of these," he said proudly as he presented his pokedex.

"What?! You have a pokedex!" she yelled and took it out of his hand to have a thorough look. "It's so awesome and useful and white and actually in my presence!" Hardly anyone outside Japan and parts of America had seen a pokedex. They were only going into the developing stage in Europe. It was no wonder Alice was so excited.

"Yeah, I really like the white colour for it," Alex said as he looked over Alice's shoulders to watch her scrolling through the different entries and occasionally looking deeper into one or two of the pokemon she hadn't heard of.

"Well that's awesome!" she said, "can we go to the gym now?"

"Yeah ok," Alex said. They went through the large, automatic doors. There was a swimming pool inside. It was typical of a Water-Type gym leader. Alice walked up to the receptionist.

"I'm here for a pokemon battle with the gym leader," Alice said.

"Do you have a trainer licence?" the man asked.

"Yup."

"What three pokemon will you be entering with?" he asked. Alice was lost for words for a moment.

"Three pokemon? Can I not enter with only one pokemon?" Alice asked.

"The rules here are a three on three pokemon battle where only the challenger may make a substitution," he explained rather robotically. It sounded rehearsed.

"Oh...I'll be back," Alice grunted. She stormed out and Alex followed. "Now I have to catch another two pokemon."

"If I let you use my Ponyta, you'll only have to catch one pokemon," Alex said.

"Thank you! Water type pokemon are good against Fire type pokemon though," Alice said.

"It's ok, I'm sure you could've beaten the gym leader with only Munchlax," Alex encouraged her.

"Yeah I know," Alice said, "can you check your pokedex and see what types of pokemon are good against Water types?"

"Yeah, sure," Alex said and pulled out his pokedex.

"_Water type pokemon are weak to Grass type pokemon and Electric type pokemon_," the pokedex said.

"I'd say a grass type pokemon is your best bet, we don't have many electric types in Ireland," Alex said. Electric and Steel type pokemon were rare in Ireland, as it didn't have many major cities for the Electric type and Steel type pokemon to feed.

"I think that's a challenge," Alice said and smirked.

"If you want to," Alex sighed. They decided that the best place to look for an Electric type pokemon would be in the town itself.

"Let's look for a power station, or at least somewhere where a lot of power was being inputted or outputted," Alice ordered.

"Well ok," Alex said. They strolled around looking for a big power place. They looked by a radio tower, a night club and a power plant and various other places. They didn't find a single Electric type pokemon. They got hungry, so they went to a pizza restaurant.

"Could we have two medium pepperoni pizzas please?" Alex asked up at the counter.

"Eighteen Euros please," the lady said. Alex gave the lady the money and sat back down with Alice.

"Why can't I find any Electric type pokemon...?" Alice sighed.

"Well this was a difficult task anyway," Alex said. Alice folded her arms on the table and lay her head down and looked towards the door. She stared out there dreamily. She could almost imagine a Pichu wandering around out there. Suddenly Alex gasped and pulled out his pokedex.

"_Pichu, the tiny-mouse pokemon. It is not yet skilled at storing electricity. It may send out a jolt if amused or startled,"_ the pokedex said.

"There's an actual Pichu out there!?" Alice said. She got up and burst outside. "Pichu! Your mine! Let's roll, Munchlax!" Alice tossed Munchlax's pokeball and Munchlax burst out. Pichu released a large jolt of electricity accidentally with the surprise. It then composed itself and got ready for battle.

"Munchlax! Use Zen Head butt!" Alice commanded. Munchlax started making a move towards Pichu. Pichu let out a Thunder Wave and stopped Munchlax in his tracks. "Oh no! Munchlax!" Munchlax was struggling to move. Pichu threw a loose brick at Munchlax. It hit Munchlax square on.

"That was Fling!" Alex said, he had come outside when the battle started.

"Interesting, but I have a Pichu to catch," Alice stated, "Munchlax! Use Return!" Munchlax managed to land a hit on the Pichu. It did massive damage. Alex realised that Munchlax really liked Alice with a Return that powerful.

"Piii...chuuuuu!" Pichu shouted as it let off a Thundershock.

"Use protect!" Alice yelled. Munchlax was protected from the attack. "Zen head butt one more time!" This time Munchlax hit Pichu. Pichu spiralled backwards and fainted.

"Go pokeball!" Alice roared.


	6. vs Ledyba

_Disclaimer: I don't own __**Pokémon **__or will say I do!_

**Finally they're on their journey... It's been a slow start but they're going.**

The pokeball wobbled from side to side. The anticipation was tremendous. The ball continued wobbling around.

"Come on..." Alice whispered to herself. The ball stopped wobbling and made a satisfying 'click'. Alice leaped in the air. "Yes yes yes!" she screamed with joy. She ran over to the pokeball and picked it up. "I caught a Pichu!"

"Great job!" Alex said. He turned and looked towards the pizza restaurant. "It appears we gathered an audience." Alice turned to the pizza restaurant as well. There were people clapping and little children jumping up and down excitedly. Munchlax was waving to the people. Alice smiled awkwardly and waved also. When they went back inside the children wanted to play with Munchlax. While Alex was healing Pichu, a person came up to Alice.

"I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" this boy said. He was ten.

"I'd accept now, but I'm starving! Can I eat first?" Alice said.

"Well...ok" he said.

"Sit with us!" Alex offered.

"Sure, thanks," the boy said. Everyone had settled down eventually, and Munchlax was playing with the children.

"Where are you from?" Alex asked as he picked up a particularly good looking piece of pizza.

"I'm from Meath," he said. "I got my starter pokemon in Dublin." Alice's eyes widened.

"A starter pokemon?" she said, "does that mean there's a professor here?"

"Yup, Professor Larch is the pokemon professor of Ireland," the boy explained, "he also gave me a pokedex and a Squirtle." He showed a pokeball and the most recent and useful pokedex from near New York by Professor Juniper.

"Whoa! I need to meet this professor!" Alice said as she wolfed down her fourth piece.

"Hey, can you send me the data on the pokemon from America like Snivy and Minccino?" Alex asked.

"Sure," the boy said.

"What's your name?" Alex said as he pulled out his pokedex. The data transfer had begun.

"Sam," the boy said.

"I'm Alex and she's Alice," Alex explained. The data had been sent through.

"_Pidove, the tiny pigeon pokemon. Though it listens to its trainer's instructions, its nature means it doesn't always understand them," _the pokedex said.

"Great! Thanks a lot," Alex said.

"No problem. What pokemon do you have?" Sam asked.

"I have Munchlax and Pichu, as you saw," Alice said.

"And I have a Ponyta and an Eevee egg," Alex said.

"Oh cool, I have a Squirtle, a Pidgeotto and a Ledyba," Sam listed.

"Can I battle you as well?" Alex asked.

"Sure!" Sam agreed. They finished their food and went outside.

"I'll battle Sam first!" Alice said.

"I guess I'll referee," Alex said. Alice and Sam stood a good distance apart on a large street where cars didn't go. "The battle between Sam and Alice is about to commence. Challengers may use one pokemon each and no substitutions may be made. Begin!"

"Go! Pichu!" Alice called.

"Go! Ledyba!" Sam shouted. Pichu looked around for a second but then sparked with electricity to intimidate Ledyba. Ledyba was unaffected by this and stared straight ahead. "Ledyba, Mach Punch!" Ledyba let loose a rapid punch to Pichu in the face. Pichu rolled backwards and sprung back up with an angry expression.

"Pichu Pichu!" Pichu raged.

"I'm not going to accept that either! Pichu! Fling!" Alice commanded. Pichu grabbed the nearest thing it could throw, a traffic cone. It soared through the air and hit Ledyba.

"Ack, Ledyba! Use Bug bite!" Sam commanded. Ledyba flew to attack Pichu.

"Pichu! Counter with Thundershock!" Alice said. Before Ledyba could get near Pichu, she let out a large electric shock. Ledyba was hit straight on.

"No! Ledyba!" It was a super effective attack. Ledyba staggered back. "Ledyba, use Mach Punch again!" Ledyba raced in for another close quarters punch. It hit Pichu straight on again. She skidded backwards.

"Pichu Pichu chu!" Pichu screamed.

"Let's go Pichu! Thunder Wave!" Alice said. Pichu paralysed Ledyba and it fell to the ground. "Finish it! Fling!" Pichu threw the traffic cone again and Ledyba fainted.

"Oh no! Ledyba!" Sam shouted. He ran over to Ledyba.

"Pi," Pichu said, crossing her arms with confidence.

"The winner of this battle is Alice!"


	7. vs Goldeen

Sam threw his hands up in the air in frustration. He ran over to Ledyba.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Ledyba looked up.

"Ledy...ba!" Ledyba said still sounding a bit pumped. Alex ran over to Sam.

"Here," he said and held out a Super Potion.

"Thanks," Sam said and sprayed it on Ledyba, "your Pichu is so strong!"

"She is," Alice smiled and looked at Pichu. Pichu smiled back and pulled her hand over her ear. Sam stood up and returned Ledyba into its pokeball.

"I'm going to get stronger and challenge the Wexford gym! Starting now!" he shouted, "see ya!" He ran down the road and around the corner before Alex could weakly say,

"But...our battle... Oh well. If I give you Ponyta, you can challenge the Wexford gym and get the badge!"

"Yeah, but it's kinda late. Let's get a room in the pokemon centre," Alice said. Alex nodded and they went in search of the pokemon centre. The building was large and red and Alex and Alice went through the doors. They walked up to the lady at the counter. Various Chansey walked about looking after pokemon.

"Hi, can we get a room for two people," Alice said. Alex coughed and looked at her in astonishment. Alice looked back and shrugged.

"Of course!" the woman said and handed Alice a key.

"Thanks. Also, can you heal my pokemon?" Alice asked.

"Yep! We will bring them up to your room later," she said. Alice gave her the pokeballs.

"You're so nice! Thank you!" Alice said and the two searched for their room. Alice looked at the number on the key. Eight. They didn't have to go far to get to it. They opened up the room. It had two beds, an en suite and a television.

"It's lovely!" Alex said delightedly and leapt on to one of the beds, "dibs." Alice giggled and put her bag on the floor. They exchanged some items when a knock came from the door. Alice opened the door and a Chansey was there with a tray holding the pokeballs.

"Thank you!" Alice said.

"Chan-sey!" it said and Alice took her pokeballs. The Chansey turned and walked back to the main room. Alice let out Munchlax and Pichu and they looked around the room. Alex grabbed Pichu and she jerked with the surprise and tried to wriggle out of his arms.

"Come on, it's ok," he said and put her sitting on his bed. She looked up at Alex and he pulled out a brush and brushed her initially scraggy hair. Alice gave Munchlax some food and turned around.

"Aww! She looks so pretty!" Alice squealed. Alex pulled some pink ribbon out of his bag and made a bow around Pichu's ear. Pichu flicked her ear and then smiled with her new look. They pottered around for a few minutes and got ready for bed. Alice put Pichu and Munchlax back in their pokeballs and they went to sleep. The next morning they got up and packed their things. They returned the key to the pokemon centre and left.

"Today I'm going to own that gym leader!" Alice confidently said. Alex smiled and nodded.

"Pichu has a type advantage against Water-Types," Alex said, "but I can't imagine there would be much to fling in that type of arena." Alice scratched her head thinking.

"True," she said. They came to the gym and stepped in. "I'm back to challenge the gym leader!" The receptionist jumped and looked at Alice.

"Oh! What pokemon will you be competing with?" she said.

"Munchlax, Ponyta and Pichu," Alice stated.

"Thank you, proceed through the door down the hall," the woman said. Alice walked down the hall. Her heart was pounding. This was her first gym battle. She swung open the doors. Before her opened up a swimming pool. A man with medium-length brown hair, in his early twenties floated about in the pool. He wore orange board shorts. He opened his eyes and saw Alice.

"Oh, hello! Are you here for a gym battle?" he said.

"Yes," Alice said. She wasn't sure what to expect of a gym leader.

"Awesome! I've been waiting for a challenger for ages! I'm Robbie by the way," Robbie said and tipped an invisible hat. He swam to the edge of the pool and hopped out. He shook some of the water off himself and said, "Goldeen, come out!" A white and red fish with a horn leaped out of the water.

"Gold, goldeen," Goldeen said. Alex pulled out his pokedex.

"_Goldeen, the goldfish pokemon. It's dorsal and pectoral fins are strongly developed like muscles. It can swim at a speed of five knots,"_ the pokedex said.

"Let's go! Munchlax!" Alice called. She threw Munchlax's pokeball and Munchlax stomped on to one of the floating platforms.

"Muuuunch!" Munchlax roared.

"Are you ready?" Robbie asked.

"Fire away!" Alice called.

"Goldeen! Horn Attack!" Robbie shouted. Goldeen leaped at Munchlax.

"Munchlax! Use Return!" Alice commanded. Munchlax punched Goldeen away from him and Goldeen splashed back in the pool.

"Erk, Waterfall!" Robbie shouted. Waterfall hit Munchlax and he toppled into the water.

"Oh no!" Alice said.

"Goldeen! Finish it with Fury Attack!" Robbie cheered. Alice smirked.

"Counter!" Alice shouted. No one saw what happened underwater. Robbie and Alice both waited while looking at the water. Goldeen floated up and Munchlax jumped up on to the platform. Goldeen had fainted.

"What!?" Robbie shouted, "how is this possible?! How many badges do you have?"

"None," Alice chuckled. Robbie's eyes widened.

"Return," Robbie sighed. He cracked his fingers. "Let's get serious."


	8. vs Surskit and Blastoise

Robbie's pupils dilated. He hadn't had a challenger like this in a while.

"Let's go! Surskit!" Robbie called. This pokemon stood on the water and glided across it.

"Munchlax! Use Return!" Alice called. Munchlax took a fast leap at Surskit. Surskit, however, glided across the water at jet pace. Munchlax splashed into the water and swam back on to a platform. "Let's try another attack! Zen Headbutt!" Alice commanded. Once again Surskit avoided the attack and Munchlax pulled itself up on to a platform.

"String Shot!" Robbie called. Surskit shot a web at Munchlax and it got entangled in the web. "Now use Bubblebeam!" Robbie called. Surskit fired a powerful spray of bubbles at Munchlax. Munchlax toppled back on to the platform, but couldn't get back up. "Now Aqua Jet!" Robbie commanded. Surskit burst towards Munchlax and Munchlax was practically unusable. Alice gritted her teeth.

"Return Munchlax," Alice said and Munchlax went back inside his pokeball. Alice looked at the ground. She wanted to keep Pichu till last to keep her health up, but Munchlax was having problems. The sun started shining through the skylight. Robbie looked up.

"Gee, it's a sunny day, isn't it?" Robbie said. Alice was suddenly enlightened.

"Go! Ponyta!" Alice shouted. Ponyta appeared on a platform and stomped his foot on the platform, shaking it in the water.

"A Fire type? You must be desperate," Robbie said. Alice smirked.

"Ember!" Alice commanded. Ponyta sprayed flames at Surskit and a bit of it hit.

"Surskit! Use Bubblebeam!" Robbie retaliated.

"Dodge!" Alice screamed. Ponyta jumped to the opposite platform and dodged the attack.

"Urrrgh... Surskit use String Shot!" Robbie said. The move hit Ponyta. Alice chuckled.

"Use Work up!" Alice said. Ponyta's flame burned harsher and burned off the web. "Let's go! Ember again!" It was a direct hit.

"Skiiiiiit!" Surskit wailed. Surskit skipped backwards along the water. Alice revealed a demonic smile, "Solarbeam!" The beam from Ponyta's mouth blasted across the arena and smashed Surskit into a wall. Robbie's jaw hit the floor.

"Wow! I never knew Ponyta knew those moves!" Alex said.

"Surskit!" Robbie said and returned Surskit to its pokeball. Robbie playfully juggled his last pokeball in his hand. "Let's win this! Blastoise!" he called and the large pokemon formed in the arena. Alice decided Ponyta had done his part.

"Ponyta! Return!" she said and called Ponyta into his pokeball. "Munchlax! It's your time again!" Munchlax appeared on the closest platform.

"Use Dive!" Robbie called. Blastoise submerged into the water and Munchlax didn't have a sightline on it. It burst up under the platform and knocked it flying into the air. "Finish it with Hydro Pump!" The blast knocked the platform into the roof and Munchlax was squished above it.

"Munchlax!" Alice screamed. Munchlax toppled down from the ceiling and landed on Blastoise's back.

"Blastoise!" Blastoise roared in victory. Alice called Munchlax back into his ball.

"You needed a rest, have a good one," Alice whispered. She pulled out Pichu's pokeball. "Go, Pichu!" Pichu formed from the red light and let off a spark.

"Pichuuuuu..." Pichu growled. Blastoise stared at the small rodent before it. "Thundershock!" Alice shouted. Pichu let off a powerful shock and it hit Blastoise directly. Blastoise pulled back in pain and then stared back angrily.

"Hydro Pump!" Robbie shouted. The blast knocked Pichu back on to the platform behind it.

"Chu chu!" Pichu raged. However, when it looked up Blastoise was under water. Pichu tried looking for it but to no avail. Suddenly, she felt the platform she was standing on start to tremor and suddenly she was in the air. Alice gawked at this, but then thought of something.

"Fling the platform!" Alice said. Pichu grabbed the platform and fired it back at Blastoise. It hit Blastoise right on the head and it stumbled. Pichu used all her power and flew back down, doused in electricity.

"Pichuuuuu!" Pichu roared.

"That's Volt tackle!" Alex shouted. Pichu collided with Blastoise. Blastoise flew back and fainted.

"What!? I lost!?" Robbie wailed.

"Ha-ha! Pichu you did amazing!" Alice hugged Pichu, regardless of her sogginess and Pichu smiled. Robbie returned Blastoise and walked over to Alice.

"As proof of your victory at the Wexford gym, I present you with the Sea spray badge!" Robbie said and handed a blue badge to Alice. Alice smiled with joy.

"Look Alex! It's so cool!" she squealed and held it so Alex could see it.

"That's amazing! You used your pokemon so well, and even my Ponyta!" Alex complimented.

"I'd agree! You will go far!" Robbie said and held out his hand to shake. Alice clasped her hand in his and shook.

"Thank you so much for an exciting battle!" Alice said.

"I could say the same!" Robbie said. They both laughed. Robbie walked out with them to see them off. "Where are you going next?" he asked.

"Dublin city," Alice said.

"The gym leader there uses Poison type pokemon," he said.

"Thanks for the tip!" Alice said.

"You welcome! Good luck on your journey you two!"

"Thank you! Maybe when I return we can have a rematch!" Alice called. Robbie nodded and waved as they walked off into the distance.


	9. vs Ducklett

Alice and Alex strolled along the route. They hadn't seen many wild pokemon and the most of which was Flying type pokemon overhead.

"How long does it take to get to Dublin?" Alice asked. Alex pulled out his Town Map.

"Uh...we have a long way..." Alex sighed. Alice huffed.

"We have to find something interesting to do while we walk. And don't say I spy!" Alice ordered. Alex stayed silent for a moment. They walked on a few steps and Alex said,

"How about we play I spy!" Alex shouted sarcastically. Alice thumped him and he laughed. "How about we move off the main route and we head into the wilderness a bit. We might find some wild pokemon."

"Good idea," Alice commented flatly. They waited for the next opening and started to make their way into the wilderness. Bug pokemon prowled around the higher parts of the trees. Alice pushed down on Alex's head. He was forced down into a crouching position behind a fallen tree.

"Geez! What?" Alex complained.

"Shh!" Alex looked ahead and saw a flock of ducklett were standing about.

"Gonna catch one?" Alex asked.

"Of course I am," Alice smirked. She jumped up and threw Munchlax's pokeball. Most of the ducklett flew off, but one stayed behind to fight Munchlax.

"Ducklett!" it shouted. Munchlax threw back an evil stare and Ducklett looked a little stunned.

"Munchlax! Use Return!" Alice called. Munchlax threw the first hit, a direct one. Ducklett smashed into the ground, but stood back up. It sprayed water at Munchlax, Water Gun. It hit Munchlax straight on, but didn't do any major damage. Munchlax stood strong. "Use Zen Headbutt!" Munchlax knocked Ducklett back and it fainted. Alice grabbed a pokeball from her belt and threw it at the ducklett. Ducklett was consumed by the pokeball in a red light. The ball rocked from side to side. Alice couldn't do anything but watch. The ball stopped rocking and the ducklett came back out. It waddled away very quickly.

"Quickly! Run! We need to catch that ducklett!" Alice shouted and ran after it. She recalled Munchlax as she went past him and Alex started stumbling after her. Alice kept her eye on the ducklett moving quickly away. Alex was a few steps behind. They were running for a while when Alex gasped,

"That thing is, huff-huff, fast, and I'm really unfit." Alice picked up her pace.

"I'll go on ahead, you rest for a while," Alice said. Alex practically toppled over and started resting. Alice kept running, catching up to Ducklett now. Alice released Pichu on to her shoulder.

"Pichu chu!" Pichu squealed as she was beginning to see what was happening.

"Use Thunder Wave on that ducklett!" Alice called. Pichu sent out a jolt of electricity and Ducklett stopped moving and collapsed on to the ground. "Now use Thundershock!" Pichu sent out a more powerful jolt than last time. It hit Ducklett directly and Ducklett fainted. "Pokeball!" Alice called, but then realised Alex had all the other pokeballs. Meanwhile Alex was slowly making his way towards where Alice had sprinted off to and he heard a sharp

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!" Alex looked up as various Flying-Type pokemon flew out of the trees. He recognised it as Alice's voice. He sighed and started jogging towards the cry. When he arrived, Alice was beating an innocent tree with her fists.

"Give me a pokeball," Alice asked. Alex handed over a pokeball. She took a deep breath. "We need to run again." Alex slapped his face and they started running. They saw Ducklett waddling on, at a slower pace than before, but still competing with a human jog. "Pichu! Thundershock!"

"PIII! CHUUU!" Pichu cried and sent out a powerful jolt of electricity. It hit Ducklett.

"Pokeball! Pokeball! Pokeball!" Alice roared as she threw a pokeball. Ducklett was sucked into it. Alice was tempted to run over to the ball and hold it shut. However, this idea was useless as the ball clicked and Alice had caught herself a Ducklett. "YES! Finally!"

"Nice job!" Alex complimented. He gasped and Alice turned to see what he was shocked at. They were on a hill overlooking Dublin city. They had chased Ducklett all the way to Dublin City.

"Well then..." Alice was a little speechless for a moment, "that was lucky."

They plodded down the hill as they were a bit tired from chasing after Ducklett. The cityscape opened up before them and they looked up at the skyscrapers, an uncommon sight where they were from.

"What should we start with?" Alex asked, "we could go to the gym, or meet the professor." Alice leaked and evil smile and looked at Alex.

"I need some new clothes, and you can carry the bags," Alice said. Alex shook his head.

"You're joking right?" Alex asked. Alice nudged Alex friendlily.

"Yeah. I still want to get something new though, and the shops here are so much better than Wexford, so let's go!" Alice chimed. Alex sighed and trudged on after her.


	10. Essentials of my universe

Alice and Alex strolled through the slowly decreasing number of people in the streets. The evening was cold, but the dark orange sky gave the impression of a warm one. Alice had bought one new outfit, as her bag space was limited and there were more important things to carry. She had decided to do some bonding with Ducklett by letting her out of her pokeball. Ducklett strolled beside her and Ducklett quacked pleasantly as breezes passed through her head feathers.

"So you're pretty fast aren't you?" Alice said.

"Ducklett," Ducklett quacked and nodded.

"That'll be really useful!" Alice chirped. Ducklett jumped up and down and quacked. They turned a corner and the pokemon centre was just on their left. They walked in and went up to the nurse at the counter.

"Hi! Can we get a room please? And also can you heal my pokemon?" Alice asked.

"Of course!" the nurse said. She took Alice's pokeballs and gave Alex the key.

"Thanks!" Alex said. They went to their room and settled down. "What are we going to do first tomorrow?" Alex asked. Alice lay back and pondered for a moment. The night had crept up on them.

"We should go to the Professor's lab I think," Alice replied.

"I can work with that," Alex mumbled. He started to drift off to sleep.

"Alex?"

"Mmm,"

"It seems so weird that we actually got out of Wexford, you know what I mean?"

"Mmm-hmm,"

"...thanks for coming with me," Alice said. She wasn't sure if he heard her or not, as he didn't answer. The next morning, they went and got Alice's pokemon. The pokemon centre offered a wonderful breakfast and then they went searching for the professor's lab. Dublin city was bigger than they had expected it to be. They spent a long time looking about for it and they got to the point where they had to ask someone for directions. Once they knew where they were going, it took them very little time to get there. The building was large and made of browny-yellow brick. Alice walked up to the door and knocked. After a couple of seconds a younger man, maybe in his early twenties, came out. He had longish black hair that curled up at the end and thin, rectangular glasses.

"Oh hello! Who are you?" he said. His lab coat flapped in the wind.

"Hi! My name is Alice and this is Alex," she pointed to Alex who stood behind her and he saluted. "We're pokemon trainers from Wexford."

"Oh! Welcome welcome, come in. My name is Professor Larch," he said. He had a smile on his face that made it look like he messed something up. "I study pokemon adaptation to their surroundings." They walked into the main room of the lab and looked upon a device that looked like it once held three pokeballs. Some pokemon started appearing and made their way to the professor.

"Shellos shellos!" a few of them said. They looked similar, but they were different colours and slightly different shaped.

"Oh, hello Shellos!" Professor Larch said and bent down to pet them all. "These are my shellos. They all come from different seas. The pink one is a Japanese West sea shellos, the blue one is a Japanese East sea shellos and the dark green one is an Irish shellos."

"Wow! They're all the same pokemon, but they all look so different!" Alex exclaimed. He went over to them and petted them.

"Do you have pokemon?" Professor Larch asked.

"Yup," Alex said as the shellos crowded around him for more attention, "I'd love to see some of your research!"

"Well you're enthusiastic!" Professor Larch laughed to himself. He gestured for them to come with him. They stopped by a fancy computer. Professor Larch shook his mouse and the screen showed a comparison of two butterfree.

"That one looks different," Alice said and pointed to the butterfree with white wings.

"That's the one frequently seen in warmer places. In colder places, like Ireland, butterfree has black wings to get as much warmth as it can," Professor Larch explained.

"Amazing! What other pokemon have adapted to our climate or region compared to Japan, or America?" Alex asked. Professor Larch laughed and flicked to some other pictures.

"Those are paras and parasect," Alice said.

"They are. Except the ones we have here are brown. The ones in Japan are much more exciting. Ours turned brown, because they only have brown mushrooms to grow and so they turned brown to go with their mushrooms," Professor Larch explained.

"That's so interesting!" Alex said. The professor kept flicking through the pictures. After a couple of moments Alex gestured the professor to stop. "That pokemon. What is it?"

The professor smiled. "Unown," he said.

"Unknown? As in you don't know what it is?" Alice asked.

"It's its name, but, sort of. There is a lot we don't know, and some we do. _And some. _I'm here to find out," he said.

"What sort of research are you going to do?" Alex asked.

"Well, we don't know if the alphabet is based on the Unown or if Unown has evolved to look like the alphabet. There have been reports of Unown in Meath, near Newgrange and I want to see if they are in the shape of the letters from the Celts or the Latin alphabet. When I see this, I can find out if the alphabet was based on the Unown or Unown adapted to look like it," the professor explained.

"That's so exciting! I wish I could be part of your research," Alex said.

"Hmm...you could help me, but I need you to prove to me that you can do it. You can start by helping me catch three new starter pokemon for me," he said.

"I would be honoured!" Alex shouted. Alice nodded and the professor brought up some images of three pokemon.

"Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. We catch one each," Professor Larch explained.


	11. vs Turtwig

Alex strolled through the forest outside Dublin by himself. They had accepted the professor's challenge and Alex had to catch a Squirtle. The forest was lush, and he saw some pokemon sleeping in the small areas of light where the trees parted. The wind didn't get here as the forest enclosed him. He was directed by the professor to a lake, where he had sometimes seen a Squirtle. Alex started to see an opening where the large blue lake nestled between the forests on all sides. He looked at the lake and some common pokemon like magikarp and poliwag swum around it. However, after watching the pokemon swim around for a few minutes, he realised he had never caught a pokemon before. He slapped his face,

"Oh damn," he said to himself. He pulled out his pokedex to see if it had any tips on catching pokemon. He flicked through everything aggressively, but failed to find anything useful. Alex sighed, frustrated. He sat down and crossed his legs. He tried to think of how Alice caught her pokemon. A pokemon strolled out of the forest and started drinking from the lake.

"_Turtwig, the tiny leaf pokemon. The shell on its back hardens when it drinks water. It lives along lakes." _ The pokedex said.

"I should try to catch it," Alex said, "go Ponyta!" Ponyta formed in front of the turtwig.

"Ponyyyy!" Ponyta roared. The turtwig turned around and stared blankly.

"The pokemon is supposed to want to battle, isn't it?" Alex said to Ponyta. Ponyta stared back, probably having the same thought. Turtwig continued to drink from the lake. "Um, Turtwig?"

"Tur?"

"I wanted to catch you, so, can we have a battle?"

"Tur...twig..." Turtwig yawned.

"You don't want to battle..." Alex sighed, "Alice didn't have to go through this..." Turtwig strolled along the lake. Alex hopped on to Ponyta. They caught up to Turtwig. "Hey Turtwig, can we please battle? I have never caught a pokemon before, and I want to learn!"

"Turtwig, twig," Turtwig said. It kept on strolling contently.

"But Turtwig!" Alex wailed. Turtwig sighed and Turtwig looked up.

"Twig twig. Turtwig," it said.

"Thank you!" Alex smiled. Just then, his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hi Alex! I caught the Bulbasaur! He's really cute! Have you caught the Squirtle?" Alice said.

"Oh, umm, not yet. It's really tricky to find, and, stuff..."

"Oh, ok. I'm going back to the lab now, so I'll see you later!"

"Kay, bye," Alex said and put away his phone. "That was Alice," he said and patted Ponyta's head, "we have to make this quick." Ponyta and Turtwig stood at a distance from each other. Alex stopped for a moment. He sighed.

"Turtwig! It's ok, we don't have to battle," Alex said. Turtwig twitched the twig on its head.

"Twig twig?"

"You don't want to battle, so you can go if you want," Alex smiled. Turtwig stared at Alex for a moment and then strolled away. Alex sighed lightly and returned Ponyta to his pokeball. Alex sat down by the lake. Not many pokemon were popping up anymore and evening was coming up quickly. Alex's phone rang again.

"Mmph, hi," Alex said.

"Alex? Where are you?" Alice asked.

"Still at the lake," Alex said.

"What!? It's getting late and you're still not back?!"

"I'm going to camp here. It'll be fine," Alex mumbled.

"I can come to where you are if you want?" Alice was worried.

"Alice, it's fine. I've camped by myself before. I'll be back when I've caught a Squirtle," Alex said.

"Umm, ok, well if you say so. I'll talk to you later,"

"Mmm hmm, bye,"

"Bye..." Alice hung up. Alex rolled over to his bag and pulled out his sleeping bag. He lay in his sleeping bag. The sky became dark and stars started forming in the sky. Alex started looking at the constellations in the sky. As he started to drift off to sleep something crawled into his sleeping bag.

"Twig twig turtwig," it said.

"Turtwig?" Alex mumbled as he opened his eyes. Turtwig was cold looking. "Oh Turtwig, you look really cold!" Alex took off his shirt and wrapped Turtwig up.

"Tur..." Turtwig mumbled. Alex and Turtwig drifted off to sleep...

The sun woke up Alex and Turtwig. Turtwig strolled towards the lake to drink again.

"Mmph, I need to wash my hair..." Alex grumbled to himself. He slowly crawled out of his sleeping bag and stared in Turtwig's direction. "Hey buddy how'd you sleep?" Turtwig smiled. Alex acknowledged that this meant 'I slept well thanks'. Alex packed away his stuff and put his Pokedex in the breast pocket of his shirt. "Hey Turtwig, have you seen any Squirtle around here recently?"

"Twig, tur," Turtwig said sadly.

"If you see one can you tell me?" Alex asked. Turtwig nodded. "Thanks," Alex said. Turtwig looked at the ground for a moment.

"Turtwig turtwig! Twig, turtwig tur," Turtwig said.

"But I thought you didn't want to battle before?" Alex said.

"Tuuurtwig!" Turtwig said.

"Sure, let's go for it!" Alex said confidently. Turtwig stood a small distance away from Alex. "Come on out! Ponyta!" Alex called. Ponyta appeared from the pokeball that Alex threw. Turtwig decided to make the first move. Turtwig shot a barrage of leaves at Ponyta.

"Ponyta! Defend with Ember!" Alex commanded. Ponyta breathed flames and burnt the leaves and they failed to strike Ponyta. "Now attack with Stomp!" Ponyta stormed towards Turtwig and was about to strike Turtwig when he Tackled Ponyta back. Turtwig started to make for another Tackle, but Ponyta had enough time to recover. "Dodge!" Alex cried. Ponyta managed to dodge out of Turtwig's way. He was a bit slow. "Ponyta fall back," Alex said. Ponyta backed away. Turtwig decided to go for another Tackle. "Solarbeam," Alex whispered. Ponyta started to charge up Solarbeam as Turtwig came towards them. He was awfully close to Ponyta when Alex called, "NOW!"

Solarbeam struck Turtwig straight on. It was even a critical hit. Turtwig was knocked out. Alex remembered that you had to lower a Pokémon's health before catching it. "Go! Pokeball!" Alex called. He tossed the Pokeball at Turtwig. The ball rocked back and forth. He never imagined how much tension there would have been in catching a Pokemon. The ball was still rocking...

**Sorry for such a late chapter. I had a lot of things on in the last while. I had my Junior Cert exams and then I spent a lot of time away without my laptop. I hope some people will continue reading, thanks everyone. Please review!**


	12. vs Squirtle

The ball clicked. Alex smiled. He was so happy he was speechless.

"Haha...ha... Yes! I caught a Pokémon!" Alex squealed. He ran over and picked up the pokeball. You did so well Ponyta! Ponyta huffed triumphantly. "I better start healing Turtwig," Alex said. Alex called out Turtwig. Turtwig lay on the ground and his twig was drooped. Alex pulled out some Sitrus Berries. "Here, eat these," Alex said. Turtwig started eating them. Alex also fed one to Ponyta.

"Turtwig twig!" Turtwig said, much more perked up.

"That's good!" Alex said. He sat on the ground beside Turtwig and Ponyta lay down beside him. They lay there for a few minutes, still looking out at the lake. The morning sky had gone and the normal day had started. Alex heard footsteps coming towards him.

"Alex?" a familiar voice said. It was Alice.

"Alice?" Alex said as he lay back so he could look at her, albeit, upside down.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm good! I caught a Turtwig!" Alex said delightedly.

"Well it's good you're ok. Have you caught a Squirtle yet?" Alice asked.

"Nope. I haven't seen one," Alex said.

"That's a shame. Professor Larch said this would help," she held out a Super Rod.

"That would help a lot!" Alex said as he got up off the ground. She handed the Super Rod over to him and she knelt down beside Turtwig.

"Now let me talk to this little guy," Alice smiled. Turtwig smiled back.

"Twig!" Turtwig smiled. Alex went over to the lake and put the end of the Super Rod into the water.

"So now what?" Alex asked.

"We wait," Alice said. Alice picked up Turtwig and sat beside Alex. Ponyta started running around again.

"Ponyta likes to run, doesn't he?" Alex said.

"Yeah he does, he's really fast too," Alice said.

"Do you think he could learn Extremespeed?" Alex asked. Alice watched Ponyta thundering around the edges of the lake.

"Probably. Maybe there's a tutor somewhere nearby," Alice said.

"A tutor?" Alex said.

"Yeah, there are some people in Ireland who can teach pokemon special moves," Alice explained.

"Whoa! Really?" Alex exclaimed. Alice looked saddened.

"Mmm-hmm," Alice said. She let Turtwig roam around again. She put her head between her knees.

"Alice, are you ok?" Alex asked.

"What have I done? I've made you come along on an adventure you weren't even planning on... It's something you didn't know about and you don't know all the things about Pokemon I learned about," Alice said. She looked up and a tear streamed down her face.

"Alice... It's fine. It was a good idea to go. I mean, when you talked about going on a journey the main reason I didn't want to go was...I was scared. I didn't want to leave home because I was scared. You wanted to go, and you weren't scared which I was jealous of. But look at me now! I'm out on a journey! And I'm making friends! I mean, look at Turtwig. I met him yesterday, and now we're friends! This has been great, and I'm sure there are still a lot of things still to do on this journey that we aren't even aware of. I don't regret this at all. And I can learn things from you! I guess that's why I went with you" Alex explained. Alice smiled.

"Ok...if that's how you feel...will you make me a promise Alex?" Alice sniffled.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Alex said.

"Will you stay by my side until my journey is over?" Alice asked.

"Of course, I promise," Alex said.

"Will you say the words please?"

"I promise I will stay by your side till the end of your journey."

Something close to an hour had passed and Alex had fished up various common pokemon. He hadn't seen a single Squirtle. Ponyta had come to a stop and was grazing. Turtwig was snoozing. Alice was resting against Alex's shoulder. The sun was high in the sky and it was the warmest part of the day, at least, as warm as it gets in Ireland.

Suddenly, there was a tug on the Super Rod. Alice hopped up with Alex and he grabbed the Super Rod.

"Please don't let this be another Magikarp!" Alex said as he landed the Pokemon.

"Squirtle!" the pokemon said.

"Finally! Go Turtwig!" Alex called. Turtwig leapt up quickly from his slumber and jumped up to face the water pokemon. Squirtle quickly attacked with a Bubble attack. "Counter with Razor Leaf!" Alex commanded. The leaves burst the bubbles and hit Squirtle.

"Squirr!" Squirtle cried.

"Turtwig! Use Tackle!" Alex called. Turtwig started making an attack towards Squirtle but it used Withdraw. The attack hardly affected it. Squirtle quickly countered with its own tackle attack. Turtwig tumbled backwards. "Razor Leaf again!" Alex called again. Squirtle leapt out of the way and hit Turtwig with Bubble which was quickly followed up with Tackle.

"Tuur..." Turtwig was injured. Alex pulled out his pokedex.

"I wonder if Turtwig has any other moves," he whispered to himself. He looked over the moves. He grinned. Squirtle ran in for another Tackle. "Tackle it back!" Alex called. Turtwig was the stronger one here and knocked Squirtle back. "Now use Absorb!" Alex called. Turtwig started leeching health from Squirtle. Squirtle now was clearly the weaker one and Turtwig stood strong. "Tackle!" Squirtle was KO'd and fainted on the ground. "Go Pokeball!" Alex tossed the ball at the Squirtle. The red light from the Pokeball enveloped Squirtle and the ball came to rest on the ground. He had caught the Squirtle for Professor Larch. He grabbed the ball and put it in his bag.

"Wow! That was an awesome battle!" Alice said.

"Thanks, but Turtwig did most of it, he's really strong!" Alex said.

"Turtwig!" Turtwig laughed. Alex returned Turtwig and Ponyta to their pokeballs and they headed off to the professor's lab.

**Please review, as constructive criticism is welcomed as well as your thoughts on the story!**


	13. vs Pawniard and Bulbasaur

Alex and Alice strolled along the canal that was in Dublin city. Goldeen, Magikarp and Feebass swam along at a leisurely rate. The day had lightened up a lot. People were going around there business in the city and they had even opened up a few arenas for pokemon battles. A few trainers were battling, but Alice and Alex needed to get back to the lab. They spotted the lab up ahead and turned into it. Alex opened the door. He suddenly got a chilled feeling down his spine. He saw Professor Larch talking to someone. The short brown haired boy turned to Alex. His blue eyes stood out of his shadowed figure.

"Well well Alex," the boy said.

"Sean..." Alex growled. Alex's face quickly took on an incredibly angry expression. Alice knew what the problem was. Sean had bullied Alex through Primary school.

"Are you here for a pokemon? I already got the best one and I have a second pokemon as well. So I guess I have a head start," he said. Alex smirked.

"Actually I already have two pokemon. They're really strong too!" Alex said as he pulled out his pokeballs. Sean's mouth quivered in frustration. Alex walked up to the professor.

"I see you've already met," Professor Larch said.

"You could say that," Alex huffed, "here's the Squirtle." He handed the pokeball to Professor Larch. The professor placed the pokeball on a table that also held another one. Alex felt a sharp jab in his back. He turned around to Sean.

"What!?" Alex yelled. The professor jumped suddenly.

"I challenge you to a pokemon battle! Two on two!" Sean exclaimed. Alex pondered this.

"Consider that challenge accepted," Alex said. Alice smiled and nodded to Alex in great approval.

"I guess I will referee, I'll take your bag Alex" the professor suggested. They took the tension to the outside marked battlefield out back. "The two on two pokemon battle between Alex and Sean will now commence. Substitutions are allowed to be made in this match. The match is over when either side's pokemon are defeated. Let the battle...BEGIN!"

"Go Ponyta!" Alex yelled.

"Go Bulbasaur!" Sean screamed. The two pokemon burst out of their pokeballs. Bulbasaur looked mean and stared angrily at Ponyta. "Bulbasaur, use Tackle!"

"Counter it with Stomp!" Alex commanded. His voice was a lot calmer than Sean's, who he had clearly riled up. Ponyta smashed down Bulbasaur into the ground before it even managed to get to him. Bulbasaur managed to get up from the ground.

"Grr...Bulbasaur, now use Vine whip!" Sean called. Bulbasaur's vines stretched out to attack Ponyta.

"Counter with Ember," Alex said. Ponyta shot out flames and Bulbasaur retracted its vines in pain. "Now finish it off! Ember on more time!" Ponyta aimed directly for Bulbasaur this time. The flames engulfed Bulbasaur and when they had passed Bulbasaur had fainted on the ground.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle, Ponyta wins!" the professor shouted.

"Whaat!?" Sean exclaimed, "I must have made the wrong choice!" He returned Bulbasaur to its pokeball. "Now time to use a real pokemon. Go! Pawniard!" A pokemon that was basically made of blades appeared in front of Ponyta. "This is my Pawniard. My uncle from America gave it to me. And it's really rare because it's a different colour to most Pawniards."

"That doesn't change anything! I'm still going to win!" Alex said. He recalled Ponyta. "Let's go Turtwig!" Turtwig appeared in front of them and smiled at everyone. He then realised that he was in a battle and prepared to fight. Alice looked confused. Alex would have had a type advantage if he had continued using Ponyta. Why'd he change to Turtwig?

"Pawniard! Use Slash!" Sean yelled. Pawniard rushed towards Turtwig. It smashed into Turtwig and he was knocked back a few steps. Yet he still stood strong.

"Use Razor Leaf!" Alex commanded. The leaves streaked across the battlefield and struck Pawniard. It didn't affect it much. Pawniard smirked confidently. Turtwig looked shocked and turned to Alex. Alex gave him a thumbs up. "We can do this."

"Turtwig!" Turtwig roared. Turtwig now received a confidence boost because of how much Alex trusted him.

"Just trusting your pokemon won't make you win," Sean laughed.

"But it certainly helps, show him what you got Alex and Turtwig!" Alice cheered from the sidelines.

"Turtwig! Use Tackle!" Alex cried. Turtwig ran at the fastest pace it could go.

"Use Night Slash!" Sean yelled. Pawniard ran in for an attack and the two pokemon clashed. Turtwig had the upper hand, being the one with stronger attack. Pawniard was knocked back. "Slash!"

"Defend with Withdraw!" Alex said. Turtwig braced for the attack and Turtwig was virtually unharmed.

"Slash again!" Sean screamed and his voice cracked as he said it. Pawniard zoomed up to Turtwig. "Wait...what?" Turtwig grabbed Pawniard with his mouth.

"That's Bite!" Alice shouted. Turtwig jumped up and swung Pawniard into the ground. Turtwig jumped back.

"Finish it with Razor Leaf!" Alex called. Pawniard was slowly struggling to get up and then the leaves smashed into it and knocked it back down. The professor waited a few moments and stared at Pawniard.

"Pawniard is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Alex!" Professor Larch exclaimed. Sean fell to his knees.

"Bu...bu..." Sean whispered, "How... I had awesome pokemon..." Alex ran up to Turtwig.

"I'm so proud of you Turtwig!" Alex cheered as he hugged Turtwig.

"Turtwig twig!" Turtwig cheered happily. They started making their way back into the lab. Alice followed.

"Why did you change to Turtwig even though Ponyta had a type advantage?" Alice asked. Alex smiled, happily this time.

"I had to prove myself. Just ploughing through because I had a type advantage wouldn't have shown any skill. Turtwig showed his power despite a disadvantage," Alex explained. Turtwig jumped up on Alex's leg. Alex patted Turtwig on the head.

"Wow, that's pretty powerful stuff," Alice said. Alex sat down on a chair. The professor walked in.

"Alex, I never got to thank you for catching the Squirtle, and the skill you showed during that battle was amazing!" Professor Larch complimented.

"Thank you very much professor," Alex said, "but Turtwig was really good!"

"Twig tur!" Turtwig chirped.

"That's true! Oh, Alex, while I was holding your bag I noticed that you had an egg. It's very close to hatching! If you stay with me for a bit longer I can make sure the egg hatches without a problem," the professor said.

"That would be great! Thank you very much!" Alex said.


End file.
